Palm Beach County is considering putting forward a referendum in November that, if passed by voters, would continue the existing .25-mill property tax levy that has helped fund cash-strapped public schools over the past six years.
When state budget shortfalls led to major cuts in education funding, the tax was put in place to help finance non-core programs for students. While some education funding has been replaced over the past two years, traditional public schools remain chronically underfunded, especially when it comes to non-core classes such as the arts. This levy makes a huge difference in whether children are exposed to the arts.
Last week, the Palm Beach County Commission postponed approval of the referendum when charter school representatives came forward to ask that they be included in the revenue sharing. At the very least, the charter schools want it specifically pointed out that the money will go only to “district-run” schools, not all public schools, which could be understood to include charters.
Unfortunately, there is only so much tax money to go around, and further dividing the pie would leave traditional public schools once again battling for adequate arts funding. Using the tax money for “district-funded” schools is crucial to maintain a thriving and competitive public education system.
The tax, which launched in 2008, assesses homeowners 25 cents for every $1,000 of home valuation. The money goes directly to pay for arts, music and drama teachers — positions that are routinely cut across the country as arts programs continue to be underfunded.
Although charter schools are considered public schools, they are not overseen by the Palm Beach County School District. The corporate-run schools do, however, receive funding from the state, and as the charter school industry grows in Florida, charter schools are slowly chipping away at the available funding for district-run public schools. Florida has been generous with its charter schools. No more so than this year, where the charter schools got a large share of the state’s extra education funding. So much so that school districts across the state cried fou.
Using this tax money to fund charter schools would only steal more money away from traditional public schools struggling to fund arts programs. Although there are certainly underfunded charter schools in the state, many are run by large corporations and are well financed. Further, the school district does not have oversight over charter school spending. Though each district-run school must account for each penny spent, charter schools do not answer to the district or taxpayers.
While charter schools are fighting to be included in the tax, the Palm Beach County School District is not buying it. While it might be necessary to change the wording of the referendum to specify “district-run” schools, changing the formula is not a good idea. We hope that change will be enough to get the Palm Beach County Commission to put the referendum on the ballot.
